Shadowhawk reviews the first novel in the new Jessica McClain urban fantasy series from Orbit, written by Amanda Carlson.

“I had no idea that reading about Werewolves could be so much fun. Big Thumbs-up.” ~The Founding Fields

I’ll be honest: urban fantasy, despite all my experiments with the genre this year, is really not my thing. I like watching this stuff, far more than I do reading it. Buffy, Angel, Underworld, True Blood, I’m all for that kind of stuff. But reading just doesn’t work for me all that much. Matt Forbeck’s Carpathia, a Titanic and Vampires mash-up, is the first such novel I read since Bram Stoker’s Dracula, back in middle school. Sarah Marques’ Vampire Musketeers: Sword & Blood, a Three Musketeers and Vampire mash-up was also fun, and I kinda did love the book of course, but I didn’t exactly feel a drive to read more about Vampires. They were both fun little experiments. Reading Amanda Carlson’s Full Blooded has changed my feelings on that matter however and now I’m really keen to read more in this sub-genre of urban fantasy: supernaturals of all types, whether Vampires or Werewolves or other kind of shifters.

The protagonist ofFull Blooded is Jessica McClain, a female werewolf, and the only one of her kind in known memory since there have never been any female werewolves. This marks her as somewhat of an outcast but given that she is also the daughter of Callum McClain, the Pack Alpha of the Northern US Territories, she gets some leeway and a tacit acceptance. It’s all still an uphill battle for her though, and has been from the start since her birth was an oddity: Werewolves always fathered sons, never daughters. The only thing that stopped her from getting killed until the present day was that she never shifted. But that’s all changed now, and there are forces out there who have been ready to take her down for years, since she is supposed to be the subject of the “Cain Myth” which effectively says that a female werewolf will be instrumental in the destruction of the Werewolf race. Now Jessica has to keep her new abilities a secret from anyone not of the McClain pack, even though there’s a detective from NYPD (an old nemesis from when she was an officer) breathing down her neck about a case.

Let me start by saying that I loved the novel. Carlson’s voice has a lot of welcome levity to it and it rarely gets over-serious to the point that, as a reader, you feel stressed out over what’s going to happen next. Jessica is smart, she is capable, and she is… normal. Not over-sexualised, not under-sexualised. There’s a balance to her character. And she has some good support from Tyler (her twin brother), Callum, James (the second-in-command of the pack), Rourke (a mercenary shifter of some kind), and Eudoxia, a Vampire Queen who has taken an interest in Jessica for reasons unknown.

The characterisation is definitely the key selling point here. Jessica McClain just leaps off the pages here because of how well she is written. There are some dialogue and monologue bits that fall a little flat and are a bit cheesy, but they don’t devalue the experience at all. Full Blooded is written as a full-on action movie, and Jessica’s character fits into that role very nicely. I’ve heard some horror stories of how female protagonists in the subgenre are often treated by the authors, as nothing more than a representation of author fantasy and the male gaze, which demands that the character be over-sexualised (both in terms of personality and attitude and clothes), and that if she isn’t some sort of an archetypical kick-ass heroine, then she be a damsel-in-distress, even though she may be the star of the novel! Jessica is none of those things. Her characterisation is mature and intriguing because there is a real depth to her as a character, as borne out by her struggles with her new abilities and her unfamiliarity with the “other side” of the fence.

The supporting cast of Tyler, Callum, James, Rourke, Eudoxia and the others is a really rich and colourful cast. Some of them fill archetypical roles such as the over-protective father (Callum), the badass merc that everyone is scared to death of (Rourke), and the sophisticated and sensuous Vampire (Eudoxia), but they are all so much more when put up against Jessica. Given that the novel is in the first person, we don’t get to read their side of the story but through Jessica we do get to explore the characters all the same. Callum’s role as Pack Alpha is emphasised again and again, as well as his over-protectiveness when it comes to Jessica, but none of it is ham-fisted in any way. When Carlson writes him as someone who has a dominating presence within a group of his fellow shifters, he does have that presence. Rourke is more than just what he is made out to be in the pages. He is actually a genuine compelling character that you can root for. Carlson writes him as an expressive extroverted character rather than this brooding bad-ass everyone is scared of. Eudoxia is a sweet-talker and charmer, but she has her “off” days too, when she gets all fired up and badass. There is a certain confrontation towards the end of the novel which is particularly delightful in that respect....more

And finally, I get to one of the best comics I’ve read so far this year, with no superheroes or mutants or such in sight, just plain old ass-kicking vampires of the Bram Stoker variety with a healthy dose of True Blood and Buffy/Angel thrown in. I first heard about Fialkov when he was announced as the new writer on the He-Man and the Masters of The Universe reboot, doing a one-shot (is it a one-shot?) with Skeletor and telling a story that harks back to the Keldor days of the character, which is one of the best representations of Skeletor that I’ve read to date. One thing led to the next, I found out Fialkov was also writing I, Vampire for DC’s New 52 relaunch and so I had to check it out, get a taste of his style and what not. And to be completely honest, the experience has been amazing.

With I, Vampire writes a series that takes influence from a lot of Vampires lore from various sources and works it into something new and different. Andrew Bennett reminds me of Angel while the antagonist Mary, his progeny, reminds me off the Vampire Bill’s sire from True Blood. Or even the Vampire-King of Mississippi, who was the best villain on the show for the first three seasons. The script is slightly confusing in issue #1 and takes a bit to get going, but when it does, it moves at a fast-pace that can leave you breathless. And it really is a very deep script that pulls the reader in and keeps them immersed in the world that Fialkov is creating, even though the setting is Gotham, Batman’s hunting grounds.

Bennett’s attempts to bring Mary to reason and stop her ill-advised purge of humans, the scenes with the vampires fighting in different forms, Bennett’s casual badassery, and the special appearance of John Constantine (who I’ve seen only in the Keanu Reeves movie, which I loved), dare all great secondary selling points of the script. The primary selling points are of course, Fialkov’s characterisation of both Bennett and Mary. Their clash of… ideologies is at the heart of this first arc, collected together as I, Vampire Volume 1: Tainted Love.

Although Fialkov writes a tightly-focused script, there were a few things I had an issue with. The first is that while we do get a superhero in the comics, and its Batman of course, his inclusion just seemed really unnecessary. This shows through more in #6 than in #5 since he is a pretty major factor in the last issue. He appears and gives us some of his good-guy spiel where he doesn’t want to kill anyone and so on, but it just didn’t work for me. Plus #6 is an issue that appears to have been rushed, which is another downside.

And finally, the art. Andrea Sorrentino illustrations are really eye-catching, but there is too much frailty to her characters. This is really common for both Andrew and Mary. They look like the wind could blow them over! Which is at odds with how action-y these two are in the script. I like her art overall, but feel that it could be quite a bit better. Also, Mary’s design really confuses me and I can’t make out whether she is naked and has painted tattoos on her body, or if it is all just some kind of an outfit. Very perplexing.

Still, I’m really liking this comic and the ending of the first arc promises a great many good things for the second arc, which I’m rather anxious to read. Plus, given all the twists and turns to the script in the first arc, it means that the series is very unpredictable and I just love that!

Shadowhawk reviews the latest graphic novel installment of the Buffyverse, collecting together the first five issues of Angel & Faith, as well as the one-shot In Perfect Harmony.

“An Angel and Faith comics team-up for more Buffyverse goodness eight years after the show ended? This is a welcome nostalgia trip!” ~ The Founding Fields

It’s been at least five years since I last saw the final episode of Angel Season 5, rather glum about the fact that this was the show finale too. What Joss Whedon created with Buffy, and then expanded to Angel, was simply great and not an experience that is easy to forget. Had I been aware that the characters of the two shows had crossed over into comics, I would have taken the dip ages ago and got back into what most people affectionately call Buffyverse. When I saw the entry for Angel & Faith Volume 1 by Christos Gage on NetGalley a few weeks back, I knew I just had to pick it up and read it. While Faith was never a principal character on either show, she is one of my favourite (guest) characters nevertheless and seeing her team-up with Angel in a series of their own was pure joy. Given how good the show had been, and the characters that Gage was taking on, I expected him to deliver on an experience as great as anything Whedon had done with them. High expectations, but then that’s the fun of all things Joss Whedon.

Gotta say that while I wasn’t that impressed with Gage’s script here, he still made me long for the days of the TV show itself because he seemed to have such a good handle on the characters and because he gets the nuance and mood of the setting as well.

To begin with, the story is canonically part of Buffy Season 9. As this is my first time with these comics, I’m not sure why that is so and one of the initial things that, for me, count against the series as this is never explained. Not that I can recall at any rate. Could be just a subtitle-ish thing I suppose. Anyways, the story kicks off with the principal characters, Angel and Faith Lehane, having relocated to London following recent events in which the former was possessed by an entity known as Twilight and committed some of the worst atrocities of his 200+ years yet, including the murder of an old friend that has now sent Angel into a somewhat catatonic state. Page by page Gage teases out the characters, getting them to develop together as a demon-slaying gruesome twosome in the style and attitude of the TV show. The characters simply do what they have always done best: kick demon ass, save the innocents, then go back home and repeat all over again the next day.

I confess that my knowledge of the Buffyverse has deteriorated over the years. I can name most of the major characters but that’s about it, other than a few random details here and there and what few things I remember from the various episodes (Buffy going to college was NOT a good thing I should point out). As such, I often struggled to understand some of the references being made by both the characters and the writer in the panels. To be honest, I can’t count that against Gage as this series is set in a well-and-truly advanced timeline within the setting and follows on after several other series, mini-series, and one-shots. One thing that this graphic novel has succeeded in doing is getting me interested in going back to the previous comics and picking up where I left off after the end of Season 5 of Angel. I really want to know what exactly three of my favourite TV characters have been up to these last few years!

The dynamics of the relationship between Angel and Faith are something that I feel Gage has gotten right. There’s a lot of back and forth between the two as Angel provides the mind behind their activities and Faith providing the muscle, although things aren’t that black and white in several cases. They also provide each other with purpose and their relationship is such that they can keep their partner honest as well. Following his “freedom” from Twilight, Angel is once again on the path to redemption and it is up to Faith to make sure that he doesn’t lose himself in his new obsession to bring back his dead friend to life. Particularly as she is privy to some details of the magical processes that he is not. For Faith, she is concerned with taking care of the remaining slayers in London and her partnership with Angel complicates matters but he is there to get her out of a jam if needed....more

Shadowhawk reviews another Angry Robot 2012 debut title, this one about the Wild West and Vampires and other supernaturals.

“Stunning, mind-blowing, amazing, fan-frikkin-tastic. None of those word can convey just how much I liked The Dead of Winter. I can’t even tell, although I know better, that this novel is a debut and not an author’s best at the peak of his career.” ~The Founding Fields

I’ve asked myself a question every month of the year: “Can Angry Robot do no wrong?”. The context: I’ve read 16 of their titles this year, and of them all, there are only 2 that I found didn’t work for me, just 2! And there are several titles coming out that I’m really excited about, more so since they are sequels to books that I really enjoyed, which is a win-win in my book. Lee Collins’ debut The Dead of Winter, the first Cora Oglesby novel, joins the ranks of Angry Robot’s best titles of 2012 and certainly one of the best debuts of the year as well. I never thought that I’d enjoy a Western so much, given that I rarely even watch a Western, let alone read one. The last Western I can recall reading is Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Valley of Fear, one of the four Sherlock Holmes novels, as well as A Study in Scarlet, the first of those novels. In terms of movies, the last one I’ve seen is Cowboys versus Aliens, which was surprisingly good. So yeah, not much experience in the genre.

But as matters stand now, The Dead of Winter has kindled a love for the Western genre in me and I’m definitely open to reading more within it.

The novel is about the husband-wife bounty hunter duo of Ben Oglesby and Cora Oglesby, who travel the Old West hunting down all manner of supernatural creatures, whether Vampires or Werewolves or any other sort. They’ve been doing it for a long time, 10 years at least if I recall correctly, and they are good at what they do. Which is why when they roll into Leadville, Colorado Cora makes Marshal Mart Duggan an offer he can’t refuse. He grudgingly recognizes her expertise, giving her the benefit of the doubt, and charges her with finding out just what the hell is going on around his town. From there on, it is non-stop action as Cora and Ben take on all sorts of Vampires, make new friends, lose a few and find their lives changed irrevocably for the worst when their past comes back to haunt them.

Feel free in the comments to correct me if I’m wrong but the Wild West isn’t a setting that suits strong female characters. It is an exemplification of “might-makes-right” and “only men have the might” and gunfighters and outlaws and sheriffs. It is fine to a degree, and I really have no complaints about it since I read so little in the genre anyway, but it still strikes me as untapped potential. It is a potential that Lee Collins explores fully with impressive flair. Cora Oglesby joins the ranks of awesome female characters such as Rachel Boucher from Teresa Frohock’s Miserere: An Autumn’s Tale, Blackbird from Adam Christopher’s Seven Wonders, Alix Nico from G. T. Almasi’s Blades of Winter, Infidel from James Maxey’s Greatshadow, and Valkia from Sarah Cawkwell’s Valkia the Bloody among others. She is our protagonist and she gets a lot of attention from the author in terms of how she is portrayed. She isn’t some stay-at-home-and-cook housewife, she is an in-your-face bounty hunter who knows how to take care of herself around all sorts of villains and monsters. Mostly.

At first she is all mysterious and stuff, but her personality, her attitudes, her motivations are gradually teased out of her and onto the pages. She embodies the sense of adventure, dangerous adventure, that I see permeate the Wild West setting. After all, it takes a very unique mindset to decide you want to dedicate the rest of your life to hunting supernatural monsters straight out of children’s horror stories, and actually doing so month after month, year after year. Which then, for Cora, dovetails into her reflections on the life she’s led so far, and how she might eventually retire with Ben to a profession that is decidedly less exciting than spook-hunting: a printing press, his father’s old business.

Cora can be charming at times, in the rough-edged sort of way, and she can be all “die, Vampire, die!” when the situation calls for it. She drinks and gambles, but is religious to her core since she considers a Priest, Father Baez of Denver, to be her mentor, confidante and friend. She is socially awkward at the best of times and treats most people around her with condescension but she loves Ben with a great warmth. Aggressive and flawed, Cora is one heck of a character to be reading about....more